While the League of Legends European Championship 2022 spring split is already over, some teams are already looking at potential changes for the summer before the playoffs even begin. However, it’s unclear who teams will let go of and who they might bring in as replacements.
Astralis got things started by announcing the departure of top laner Matti “WhiteKnight” Sormunen and support Hampus Mikael “promisq” Abrahamsson. There’s no word, however, on who will be joining the team. With so many options available, here’s a list of the best LEC and League Championship Series players absent from this spring split that professional team could target for summer.
Nisqy
Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer may not be a free agent, but he’s been sitting on the bench ever since Marek “Humanoid” Brázda signed as mid laner for Fnatic. Yet, there is a high chance of seeing Nisqy back for summer split, as he was one of the best performing players from this list last year (he went to worlds with Fnatic, after all).
Some teams have already expressed interest in the player, per sources. On top of that Nisqy, managed to remain in the spotlight by climbing to rank 1 in Solo Queue earlier this year. He is even still in the top 10, at the moment.
Nisqy has everything needed to get back into the heart of LEC competition, and a team just needs to buy out his contract from Fnatic.
Advienne
While Henk “Advienne” Reijenga did play this spring split for Excel, he was removed from the starting roster after only two weeks to make room for Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle. He is still under contract, but since support is often considered a weaker role in Europe, he might find a team that needs him.
After all, there aren’t that many supports available, unlike mid laners. So, if support changes do happen among LEC teams, there is a high chance that Advienne will be considered. And if that doesn’t come to pass, he could easily end up playing for a good European Regional League team.
LIDER
Another mid laner that’s still under contract with a LEC team is Adam “LIDER” Ilyasov. He had some interest from LEC and LCS teams last offseason but it never went further than that.
However, if there are many mid lane changes across either league, we could see him back. Otherwise LIDER may just spend one more split on the bench or head over to an ERL team. Either way, it’s hard to look down on being replaced by a player like Luka “Perkz” Perković.
Jensen
Similarly to Nisqy, Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen faced an unfortunate offseason following a run at the 2021 League of Legends World Championship. Despite his previous troubles, Jensen also has a good chance of getting back into the competition.
One LCS team has already expressed interest in the player, according to sources. So, it’s more than likely fans will see him in North America — especially considering his value is much higher there since he became a resident. Additionally, Jensen is a free agent since Team Liquid released him from his contract.
thx for the past 3 years
no longer have a buyout 🥳 https://t.co/4xa439mx7Q
— Nicolaj Jensen (@Jensen) December 9, 2021
Jiizuke
The Italian stallion Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro didn’t continue with Evil Geniuses this split after playing there for two years. His experience could probably be a solid asset for any team who had a weak showing in the spring.
However, with the sheer number of mid laners are available right now, it might be difficult for Jiizuke to find a team. On the plus-side, he is currently a free agent.
IgNar
Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun is another player from Evil Geniuses that’s currently a free agent. However, since there are fewer support players available on the market, there is a chance we could see him back at top level competition.
Fun fact: IgNar played in the LEC previously and went to worlds with Misfits Gaming in 2017. The same thing happened with Jiizuke and Team Vitality in 2018.
Magifelix
While Carl Felix “MagiFelix” Boström did sign with Misfits Gaming recently, his contract does run out on April 4. That means he will be available for Summer Split.
Magifelix didn’t get a team after his departure from Astralis, but just like Nisqy he did reach rank 1 in Solo Queue. That’s definitely worth something, but only time will tell if other teams think so, too.
And that’s the list of top players we haven’t seen much of in 2022, yet. But should the right opportunity come around, we could see them back in the summer. However, there are always Academy or ERL teams to consider, though most of players there are under contract through the end of the year. Seeing them reach the LEC or LCS would require selling their contract from one team to another.
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